Tag Archives: leadership

Last week I talked about “that dirty ‘M’ word” (micromanagement) and the fact that we’re all leaders and need to acknowledge our accountability, and the responsibilities our colleagues have that impact that.

Today I want to go further and talk about one way we can assert ourselves as leaders:

In the way we speak.

I just finished reading “Speaking As a Leader” by Judith Humphrey. My dad (an amazing speaker!) lent it to me. It’s all about how no matter where you are – an elevator, an informal meeting, writing an email, presenting formally, etc. – or who you are (junior, experienced, CEO) – you can present yourself as a leader.

How? It’s about the way you speak. And I don’t mean the words you use or the voice you have (although the book touches on that, too), but the way you share your message.

This approach is scalable, in that it can expand or contract depending on how much time you have, or what kind of format you’re speaking in.

Even in the week since I finished it, it’s been a game-changer. I used it immediately last week in a presentation I shared at an AFP Workshop in Toronto on the combined power of marketing and fundraising.

I don’t want to steal Judith Humphrey’s intellectual property – and I could never do the book justice – but in short it’s about grabbing your audience with something inspiring, powerful, personal, relevant, etc., stating your subject (what are you here to speak about?), stating your message (what’s your argument in regards to the subject?), and then explaining to the audience how you’re going to support that argument (the structure).

I can’t stress the importance of structure enough. You’ve been there: at a presentation and you may be genuinely interested, but you’re a bit bored or tired or distracted and struggling to pay attention.

As a presenter – or a leader – we need to help our audience follow along. We need to say: here’s my point, and here are the three ways I’m going to prove it to you.

They don’t talk about this in the book, but my dad expanded on this part for me; keep going back to that structure. Say, “So now I’m done with my first point, X, and now I’m going to share my second point, Y.” This does a lot to keep people engaged, and when you’re truly leading, it will hammer your points home.

The body of the presentation/talk/phone call/etc. is self-explanatory.

The conclusion is all about bringing people back to the message by restating it. But restating it isn’t enough; what do you want people to do? Finish with direction, action, a rallying cry!

It’s just like donors. Inspire them? Yes. But don’t leave them hanging. Inspire them to act.

I hope this helps you organize your next presentation, meeting, or whatever it might be. Approach it this way and you’ll be doing more than speaking; you’ll be leading.

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Written by Maeve Strathy

Maeve is the Founder of What Gives Philanthropy and has been working in fundraising for eleven years.Click here to learn more about Maeve.

But something I want you to know about me being back, is that it’s going to be different this time.

I’ll still blog – and have guest bloggers blog – about all things fundraising and philanthropy.

But I also want to talk about leadership, management, organizational development… all within the fundraising/philanthropy/charity context, of course.

I had the privilege of spending last week with Simone Joyaux. It was truly a privilege. Simone is a powerhouse, a visionary, and very passionate about organizational development.

I’ve always been into leadership and all that, but now I’m particularly charged up about it. So let me share something I learned recently to think about in a new way. Not from Simone, but from Kesheyl van Schilt – the President of the company I work for, Blakely Inc.

Kesheyl is also a powerhouse and a visionary and an incredible leader, fundraiser, mentor, and friend.

Kesheyl and I were talking about leadership. As a Fundraising Strategist at Blakely (think: Account Director at an ad agency), I am not a manager, I have no direct reports, but I am a leader. I’m accountable for my clients, and my colleagues who work with me on client teams.

Kesheyl challenged me to ensure I was always thinking ahead when thinking about clients – asking my colleagues the right questions, anticipating issues, ensuring projects were on track.

I challenged Kesheyl back: “But the teams I work with are so competent! I know my colleagues know what they’re doing and I don’t want to step on their toes. I don’t want to micromanage them.”

Micromanage. Now that’s a term with negative connotations. What do you imagine? A manager breathing down your neck? Undermining your competence? Questioning your work?

That’s what I think about. I don’t want to be that leader. I believe in my colleagues and trust that they’re doing their jobs.

But Kesheyl put it in a different context: “By asking the right questions, you’re not micromanaging. Your colleagues have a lot of different balls in the air, and if they drop them, you’re accountable. By asking the right questions, you’re supporting them. You’re being a leader.”

Ohhhhhhh. Now that sounds different!

So I’ve put the approach to work. When I go into meetings – even if it’s not my meeting to lead – I come in with questions. I ask if my colleagues have everything they need to do what they’re responsible for. Because what they’re responsible for, I’m accountable for.

What do you think? Can you show your colleagues more support without breathing down their necks? If you’re accountable for a program or donor relationships, I’ll bet there’s other people responsible for work that impacts your accountability. Maybe you have direct reports or maybe they’re colleagues on the same level as you, but they’re responsible for the telemarketing portion of your annual program. Or they’re responsible for sending out tax receipts and thank you packages to donors you work with. Are you ensuring they have what they need to do what they do that impacts you?

Think about it! Happy Wednesday!

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Written by Maeve Strathy

Maeve is the Founder of What Gives Philanthropy and has been working in fundraising for eleven years.Click here to learn more about Maeve.

So, things aren’t going so well. You’ve recognised that there’s potentially something that could be refined – the excuse of “but we’ve always done it that way” has grown tired and you want to take action.

You feel it’s time to get the team together and pull some ideas into the melting pot. Your team buzzes with excitement; you all sit down in a room with some cookies and have an amazing day of productivity and unhindered creativity.

You’ve taken your findings away and your team patiently waits for the higher powers that be to give them instruction on which avenue will be taken. Then what happens next completely devastates them;

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing happens. A day goes by, a week – one even comes up to you and enquires if a decision is made and the reply was something along the lines of “We had our creative time last week, today I just need you to focus on your task”. Your team then go back to doing the inefficient task without ever knowing if their opinion was even worth voicing.

Fundraising takes creativity. It takes people with passion, with ability to think out of the box and look at things from different or conflicting points of view to succeed. These are things that should be nourished with a company culture that helps brings those ideas forward. If your team feels like nothing will come of their ideas, then they’ll stop producing them, and maybe even leave the organisation.

However, don’t panic – there are a few things you can do to stop this from happening.

Positivity. This is an important time for your organisation. What is said in that room could be the pivotal moment where things change for the better. Some of the ideas shared may not be the best or what you were hoping – but it’s better to inspire and encourage than stop the ideas flowing.

Communication. Make sure your team feels they are in the loop. There have been plenty of studies that suggest the more a worker feels in control of what they do the more productive they are. Keeping them regularly updated with how their ideas are developing, whether they are developing or not, will give them the confidence that their ideas are valued. It’s also important to communicate with clarity – no point updating your team if you’re going to use terminology they might not work with usually.

Leadership. One of the most pillars of being a good manager is having the confidence of your team and they need to know you’ve got their back. Don’t isolate your work from them, if they know what you’re doing each day, they’ll be more understanding if you have to put their ideas on a back burner. When things go right, celebrate the successes as a team and make sure credit is given where it is due.

As someone who line manages a team it’s important to remember the difference between a boss and a leader. A boss will dictate, think of themselves as above them and ultimately push away their team. A leader gets stuck in, will be a no-ego doer that helps the team improve and accomplish things together – ultimately promoting happiness, productivity and a culture of self-improvement.

Be a leader not a boss. Inspire.

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Written by Alexander Morgan

Alexander is the CEO of StayBraveUK and is passionate about Donor Engagement.

I’ve been talking and writing a lot about leadership lately. It’s a topic I am incredibly passionate about – because we are never going to raise the money we need to raise if we don’t have good leaders who inspire their teams.

Regardless of our age, or experience level – we all need to spend as much time learning about leadership as we do fundraising.

With that in mind, here are my top 5 favourite TED talks that I think every non-profit leader (present and future) should watch:

Simon Sinek: Why good leaders make you feel safe I am a HUGE fan of Simon Sinek. You probably know him from his book “Start With Why” – but it is this talk on the role of a leader that resonated with me. In 12 minutes, this TED talk succinctly summarized one huge problem with working in the non-profit world – we need to feel safe in our jobs to be truly successful.

“Great leaders are willing to sacrifice the numbers to save the people. Poor leaders sacrifice the people to save the numbers.” –Simon Sinek

Dan Ariely: What makes us feel good about our work? What makes employees happy at work? Feeling like the work they are doing is making a difference. We need that to feel fulfilled in the work we do. IN FACT using salary to incentivise performance often has the exact opposite effect you want it to. Frankly, this is a video I wish I could force all fundraising directors, EDs and CEOs to watch Clockwork Orange style.

“There’s a mismatch between what science knows and what business does”
–Dan Ariely

Susan Cain: The power of introverts In a world where many charities treat major gifts like it is the best kind of fundraising, Susan Cain’s messages are bang on for our sector.

“I worry that there are people who are put in positions of authority because they’re good talkers, but they don’t have good ideas. It’s so easy to confuse schmoozing ability with talent. Someone seems like a good presenter, easy to get along with, and those traits are rewarded. Well, why is that? They’re valuable traits, but we put too much of a premium on presenting and not enough on substance and critical thinking.” –Susan Cain

Michael Norton: Money can buy happiness This TED talk has another powerful lesson on how to have happy, high performing teams: don’t spend money ON you team members – let them spend money helping each other.

“Teams that are pro-social sell more stuff” –Michael Norton

You’ll notice Dan Pallotta’s The way we think about charity is dead wrong isn’t on the list. Why? If you haven’t seen this TED talk, you may be living under a rock and I’m not sure this blog can help you. Just kidding, if you haven’t seen this one, it is also a must-watch.

Rory is a Senior Development Officer by day, and FundraiserGrrl by night. As a major gifts fundraiser, she connects donors with an opportunity to invest in a better future. FundraiserGrrrl is a blog about her cheeky observations about life in fundraising.